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Three Wise Men and a Baby
Three Wise Men and a Baby was the first story of the 2014 Christmas Lights series. It was written by Omie and Fang Rock, and featured the 7th Doctor and Mel. It was a pure historical, and required actual research, being set at the birth of Jesus. The story focused heavily on the Magi, however - the titular three wise men. The pseudonyms used by Omie and Fang Rock were Melinda Dalton and Elvis Burdysap, respectively. More perceptive readers may be able to work out what these are anagrams of. Summary The Doctor and Mel arrive on Earth not long before Jesus is born after the TARDIS malfunctions. It requires frankincense and myrrh, and so the pair - in "hilarious" disguises - traipse the famed marketplace. There, they encounter Balthazar, and in the confusion, lose their purchase. The race is on to ensure Jesus isn't given the poisonous concotion when Balty takes the wrong bottle! They catch up with the Magi just as the gifts are being exchanged, convinced of the Master's involvement. Mel swaps the bottles discretely whilst the Doctor interrogates the wise men. Before long, a shepherd arrives and informs them that the hag they have been showering with gifts is in fact not Mary. They move to the next stable, forced to leave the gold behind. The Doctor and Mel do the same, a bag of jelly babies lighter. The solution back in their possession, they make their way back to the TARDIS. Behind the Scenes Written by Fang Rock: : I always knew I wanted Omie - our very own Gareth Roberts, even down to the beard - to write a story for Christmas Lights. Even though the stories may seem simplistic on the surface, there’s a great deal going on under the surface. Al doesn’t tend to plan these too far ahead when writing (usually the idea and the climactic scene emerge first) but he gets into the minds of his characters effortlessly. With strengths in both characterisation and plot, asking Omie was a no-brainer. And there was no doubt I wanted him to open with it. Using the story of the Magi was an almost instant decision, and we both had the idea of using the Seventh Doctor and Mel. One of the first narrative decisions made is that the baby at the end would turn out to be Brian. Now it was just a case of building a story around that! For a short period, it was going to be a very similar set up on an alien world, before we decided just to shift it to the ‘real’ settings on Earth. This was all finished and ready to go by 11 December. Reviews Written by DoctorOfManyThings: : Read it. Written by BigDocFan: : As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing I like more than a pure historical but when it comes to the theme of Jesus Christ, I have a few concerns but nothing came out of it with this story. Pure historical, pure classic. A nice take on the old tale, felt so in character of Mel and Loved the Doctor's mistaking one of the men for the Master, pity you mentioned the pure historical earlier, might have got me thinking the same. Loving the idea of the Camels, nice to have unusual rides in stories. : 8/10 Written by Kymera: : Quite enjoyable. A nice light-hearted tale with a few laughs thrown in. Written by TheMassacre:: Love it - I felt like a Season 24 story (not in a bad way, of course) and I liked how you stayed in continuity. Will there be more? Written by Cybertrash: : An enjoyable romp with a simple mix up proving to be the driving force behind the story for the most part. The idea was fun and silly, especially the Doctor suspecting the Master's involvement (even though it later transpired that it wasn't anything to do with him!) I liked the little touches like the extra stars in the sky - sightseers. Mel and the Doctor were both written really well, but the the Doctor's rolling Rs got annoying after the 3rd/4th/5th time. Less is more etc etc... Think the hat line may've been a nod to the 2nd Doctor, who used to like hats? And obviously 4th's Jelly Babies got a mention. Some smutty humour littered throughout the story which was comical, but I could've done without the camel fart gags. Bit Slitheen-esque! Small issue with the line - "Mel gives him a reproachful look." Turned into present tense for a moment there. Enjoyed the final scene with the clever lead into Dragonfire. Overall, a fun story with a very Christmassy feel and plot and setting, but I would've liked a nemesis for them to battle rather than just a messy situation. PS - My money's on this one having been written by Fang Rock & Omie. Felt like Kaleidoscope ''meets ''Masterstokes! 8/10 Written by Poison Bacon: : Great fun and very Christmsssy. Nice to see a much underused pairing like 7 and Mel being done and so well. Really liked it.